Quite recently I had the opportunity to attend the Ethiopian Good Friday service in one of the churches of Addis second year in a row. Again I was simply amazed by the tranquil atmosphere created by the praying ceremonies that were being exercised on the church yard throughout the day, accompanied by the fairly monotonous reading and singing of the priests who were in charge of the service. Spending time in Ethiopia during their Easter period is a little like entering the times described in the Bible. And it translates into more modern phenomena as well, such as fasting pizzas for instance!

I remember from my childhood that I always woke up in my bed staring straight into an icon hanging on the wall. The icon was brought into our house by an uncle who had been to Russia, and it depicted Saint George killing the dragon. In Ethiopian orthodox tradition, however, there is sometimes a third person watching over this dragon killing procedure: Saint Bula (my spelling may be incorrect). He is sitting up in a tree and looks down at the heroic action of his co-saint with jealousy, I was told. I suppose I should have a look at the Bible written in Geez to find out more about him and the reasons for jealousy. As it happens, he is not the only saint I am not so familiar with: Did you ever hear about Saint Tekle Haimanot, who spent seven years praying, standing on one leg? 

Much to my surprise, Sana’a is not impregnated by a strong coffee culture, despite the famous Yemeni coffee. Most of the time I sipped, like all Yemenis, the deliciously spicy shay ahmar, and I will miss those nightly culinary feasts of the Ramadan… and now that I am back, my home roasting career is about to get an extra boost with what I bought: Jimma, Harar, Sidamo, Limu, Yergacheffe and Lekemte. Time to indulge!

Yesterday I was lucky enough to bump into a big group of Ethiopian priests in their full gear while they were getting off their coach. I wanted to wish them all a very happy new year but at that very moment my brain’s long term memory of the Amharic department was closed, so I greeted them in English instead. So here goes to all of you once more: melkam addis amet!

“Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year) falls on September 1 Ethiopian calendar (September 11 Gregorian Calendar) at the end of the Ethiopian rain season and is called Enkutatash. September 1 is also celebrated to mark the commemoration of Saint John the Baptist. Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year) is not only a religious holiday but it also a day for young boys and girls to sing and dance and for exchanging New Year greetings among urban and rural inhabitants.”

Source: Ethiopian Treasures

If I have fresh coffee - and dark chocolate - in front of me, nothing can upset me, not even the fact that my blog template had once again messed up my widgets and I had to switch back to my softer looking template. When I say fresh coffee I mean really fresh. I love the home roasting thing because of the aroma that it spreads around the apartment. The whole process from washing the green beans to listening to their cracking in the pan and finally sipping a cup or two (or three if you are in Ethiopia) is about switching yourself into “coffee mood”. So here I am having a little break from squeezing all our belongings into cardborad boxes.. The landlord is here any minute now to show the apartment, maybe the coffee aroma will do the trick and the potential tenants will be charmed to make a decision on the spot!

I plan to go to Yemen later in the summer and of course I will bring back coffee as much as I can carry and afford. I Just noticed while surfing that there is a Syrian coffee seller whose products include bottled coffee called Bunna Al-Hamwi. This somewhat obcene idea is against all my principles, though I admit a bottle of coffee may indeed come handy in exceptional circumstances. I only wonder what the taste is like.. 

Do you know what this little wooden object is? One tiny tip: if you are Ethiopian you are disqualified to reply!

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